Risk factors increase your chances of getting breast cancer, but just because you have many risk factors does not mean you will definitely get the disease. Some risk factors you cannot change, such as age, genetics, and may increase your risk of breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. About 5-10% of breast cancer is caused by genetic factors (inheriting genetic changes called mutations). Mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are the leading risk factors for breast cancer.

Inherited mutations increase an individual's risk of one or more types of cancer and are passed on from parents to children. APC, EPCAM, MLH1, MSH2, and MSH6 are the most common colorectal cancer risk genes.

Changes (mutations) in genes that increase the risk of cancer can be passed on from generation to generation. This article provides information to answer the question of whether your cancer and that of your family are caused by a genetic mutation.